Saturday, August 30, 2008

ON SCREEN:90210Tuesdays; The CW, GlobalELI STONETuesdays this fall; ABC, A

BOTTOM LINE: TWO'S COMPANY . . .

Double time

Some actresses are in an exclusive club this fall.

With roles on more than one show, the new

season will be twice as nice for them.

By Eric Kohanik

Getting a role on a network TV series is a tough job.

For some actresses, though, the upcoming season will be twice as nice because they’ve landed jobs on more than one show.

AnnaLynne McCord is among those in that exclusive club. The 21-year-old actress was a dazzler as Eden, the deviant and predatory daughter of Olivia Lord (Portia de Rossi) who was slowly poisoning Julia McNamara (Joely Richardson) with mercury-laced fruitcake on Nip/Tuck last season.

Starting this week, viewers will see McCord as Naomi Clark, a spoiled rich girl on the much-hyped new incarnation of 90210.

“Obviously, 90210 is more the PG version of my role on Nip/Tuck,” McCord explained recently in Los Angeles. “I’m still ‘the bitch.’ It’s an awesome job.”

There’s still plenty of action in store for Eden, though, when FX’s Nip/Tuck returns this fall –airing this time on Citytv in Canada. (It used to be seen on CTV.)

“This does not mean you’ve seen the last of Eden,” McCord confirms somewhat playfully. “I am not written out of Nip/Tuck – and I’m not going to say anything [more]!”

Toronto actress Shenae Grimes is part of the doublemint club this season, too. She tops the 90210 cast as Annie Wilson, the girl who endures the culture shock of Beverly Hills when her family moves there from Kansas.

Grimes will also still be part of CTV’s Degrassi: The Next Generation when the Canadian series returns for its eighth season.

For Grimes, the difference between working on TV shows in Toronto and Los Angeles has been mostly about the hype of Hollywood.

“Everything that’s been going on has been a little overwhelming, to say the least,” the 18-year-old actress says of the publicity storm that is surrounding her. “I’m just rolling with it.”

Loretta Devine has certainly learned to roll with things. Viewers have come to know her as Adele, the wife of Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) on Grey’s Anatomy.

Last season, they also got to know Devine as Patti, the no-nonsense legal assistant to Eli (Jonny Lee Miller) on ABC’s Eli Stone. That role came about after Adele had left Richard and Devine thought it was the end of the road for her on Grey’s Anatomy.

“I’ve sort of always been in limbo,” the 58-year-old Devine says of her Grey’s work. Although Adele’s return in the season finale didn’t surprise her, the character’s apparent reconciliation with her ex-hubby did.

“I never know whether they’re going to kill me off,” Devine admits. “So, when I went back this past season, I thought that they were bringing me back to do that. Instead, they wrote in a bedroom scene. So, I was really happy about that.”

And what about handling roles on two series at the same time this fall?

“It’s all like a juggling act,” Devine says. “I’m real excited to be part of both shows.”